Companies wanting to use Twitter as an advertising tool should exercise caution, one expert has said.Companies are rightly wary of using Twitter to advertise themselves, according to one digital marketing agency.

Bigmouthmedia’s head of strategy Andrew Girdwood said people should realise that the microblogging site is a customer relationship channel and so poses challenges to businesses.

“If you don’t have the resources, you shouldn’t be on Twitter, because all you’ll end up with is people screaming obscenities at you,” he explained, adding that clients will attempt to connect with a firm online and their complaints could be “brand-damaging”.

He advised companies wanting to use social media as a tool to make sure they have a strong presence, otherwise they could open themselves up to unnecessary criticism.

A recent study by marketing agency 360i found that just 16 per cent of advertising messages show engagement with customers.

Over 20 billion tweets have been shared on the website, 50 per cent of which came in the last five months.

Posted by Hayley Edwards